Friday, January 08, 2010

best films: #36: BAMBI (1942)

Previously rated and blogged at #55
No other Disney movie quite has the market cornered on absolutely adorable quite like 1942's Bambi. And thanks to some incredible woodsy visuals, an unquestionably likable host of forest creature characters, a score by Frank Churchill and Edward H. Plumb that's far too good to be so forgotten by most, and one of the most chilling and effective death scenes in movie history, it should serve as a lasting testament to the validity of animated films. Try to come up with another more important teaching moment that a kid's movie has brought up than Bambi's mother being shot. In fact, the scene(s) was so important that it managed "Man" a No. 20 spot on AFI's 100 Heroes and Villains list. But the intense drama and fantastically whimsical score aside, Bambi just happens to my happy remedy for just about anything. Nothing can truly make me as giddy as watching the fawn, the young bunny, and the bashful skunk interact. There really is something to be said for a movie that can actually transport you back to your childhood and render you a gigglebox on the spot. So for those of you who cry every time during the hunters' scene, who don't say nuthin' at all when you don't have anything nice to say, or who have ever been "twitterpated," this one's for you.

Standout Performance: Peter Behn, who voiced Young Thumper, is probably the most adorable voice actor in history. From "Aaaaahm Thumper!" to "eating greens," he's a matter-of-fact bunny who's too big for his own britches.

1 comment:

Notas Sobre Creación Cultural e Imaginarios Sociales said...

Aww OK this one always makes me get all misty eyed. It's so beautiful and delicate, perhaps my fave Disney movie up there with "Dumbo".